Deficit in German DIY retail results

The German DIY and home improvement stores report an overall negative sales trend at the end of the third quarter of 2013. As announced by the BHB, a DIY retail association, total gross sales of € 13.741 bn amounted to a decline of 3.4 per cent on the same period last year. At the same time, the end result for the third quarter turned out to be more positive. The sales figures for the first quarter continue to have a determining influence on the current overall result: here the garden ranges in particular made markedly worse progress than in 2012, largely because of the weather conditions.